Born to Write: Samantha Modder

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“I was born to write

You may not like what I have to say

Or the way that it is said

You may not think that it's the best

Thing you've ever read

But I was born to write

When emotions find the way

To be still in time and space

When hours pass and I feel alive

As each word falls into place

I know I was born to write…”

(Born to Write)

Samantha doesn’t know how or why she started writing; she’s simply always been doing it (her parents have poetry she wrote when she was four years old – when most of us were probably not sure how to spell anything!). “If you find something interesting you just write about it” she says simply, seemingly confused as to why anyone would be interested.

But then, it’s not every day that a nearly-17-year-old publishes her second collection of poetry. And not just any old collection of rhymes either. Though In a Head Like Mine features poems from when she was between 10 and 14, there’s quite some depth of thought in the works. ‘You From Where?’ and ‘Jesus, My Shooting Star’ for example deal with serious issues that are personally very important to Samantha: identity and Christianity. “I try to put a little bit of humour in it, but [Christianity] is a big part of who I am, so I’m not gonna joke about it” she tells me, matter-of-fact.

But more often than not, there’s lots of humour in what she writes. She pokes fun at her not-so-tech-savvy mum, her super-spy brother, her friends, and just picks up little things (homework, dust-balls, vegetables, cockroaches!) from everyday events, adds lots of wit and sarcasm, whips it together with tonnes of imaginative insanities and puts together a delightful concoction of unbelievably good poetry.

And then she illustrates them too! Samantha’s second love (after writing) is drawing, a flair for which she loves to show off. “That’s something I’m not embarrassed about” she laughs, explaining that since she simply draws images, and not what she feels, she’s not as self-conscious about her painting as her poetry. “The reason why this book took so long to come out was that I really didn’t wanna publish it” she admits, “I write for me, and if you read the stuff I write, then you know a lot about me, it’s very personal”.

She begins, in a mocking, super-flowery accent describing how her parents have “always been very supportive” (they have the kind of relationship that leaves no room for false emotion but plenty for good laughs) but gets serious with a truth she took “a long time” to realize. “I recognize the importance of not being ashamed of what you have”. Publishing has helped her share and assert the strength she receives from knowing that “this is what I do, and it’s good”.

How she switches modes, from playful to serious, confused to confident, reveals not only what seems an instinctive desire to “capture” and highlight moments (as she does with her poems) but also her love of treading the boards. “I love to act!” she smiles, a tad regretful though, that she doesn’t have more opportunity to do so. Now, we’re starting to think she’s one of those “perfect” girls from out of a movie. She has smooth but striking features and a slender figure, tops most of her classes, wins prizes, writes, acts, draws, sings a little, plays a little sports, and everyone seems to love her. But Samantha Modder defies the box I’ve arranged for her. “We got kicked out of here (the quiet little tea-shop where we’re having our highly animated and giggle-punctuated conversation) once for playing Uno” she tells me quietly, grinning broadly, “cus we were banging our hands down on the tables really loud and stuff”.

The story, in fact, is not all that difficult to believe. There is a persistent glint in young Miss Modder’s eyes that sparkle as they roam the area, seizing things up, and I learn, she is not fond of jewellery, heels, party dresses or shopping. She will most definitely not be stereotyped.

 

It’s quite likely that it is this quietly rebellious streak in her that makes Samantha’s writing so surprisingly mature and well-controlled, allowing her to see and represent the irregularities in everyday situations. “So this is what it feels like/To be alive” she writes at 13 years old, in ‘I Watched the Ball’, unexpectedly sensitive to the unintentionally marginalized, the true writer’s sensibility. These moments of what her father calls “thoughtful, creative calm” were not so frequent in her earlier works on aliens, haunted houses and panthers drinking Fanta, as they are now. The passion and intensity of a few more years added to her age are starting now to show on her notebook of scribbles and doodles;

“There's a pain deep inside me

That never goes away

It sits and hides quietly

Waiting

For the moment, for the word

That will make it come

Gushing out

In hot salty tears

And tiny little gasps

Of air as I try to breathe…”

(untitled)

“Love?” we wonder aloud, to which the sweet-sixteen laughs. “I've never been in love, and I haven't imagined myself in love, AND I think that most people who think they're in love aren't really in love... So!” you really can’t expect her to be how you expect, or to feel uncomfortable that she is not what you expect, because in her own words;

“…right now, right here, this very place

I know what I must do

Sculpt these words and form these lines

'Cause I was born to write

For you.”

Mama in her Kitchen

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Yeah, we’re still on about Galle. But it’s impossible to make a trip down that way without dropping in at Mama’s. In a matter of months, Mama’s Cafe on Leyn Bahn Street in the Fort developed a flattering international reputation for its rice-and-curry. What sets it apart from tonnes of other similar places is the simple fact that there is no food like home-cooked food, because at Mama’s, it’s really Mama who cooks.

Malini Perera, in her simple skirt-and-blouse, is the shyest when I tell her everyone seems to just love her polos curry. She laughs quietly, because she doesn’t know how she “became” such a good cook, “I guess it’s something I’ve brought from birth”. What’s special about her cooking, she thinks, might be the spice. She buys the raw ingredients from the market and spends dear time washing, cleaning, drying and pounding it to the right consistency. The mix, she puts together intuitively and bottles for the next few weeks, sending some to her daughter’s store down the next street.

Her chicken and polos curries get special blends of curry powder prepared for them, but the other curries on the buffet line-up get the usual amu paha, turmeric, maldive fish, chillies, garlic, rampe, karapincha etc. They’re still so special because everything falls from Mama’s own hand, and as our mothers and grandmothers know, there is so much more in the hand that cooks than in the ingredients themselves. “I want everything right” she smiles, “the taste, the aroma, and I also need the food to look good” But it must be Malini’s simple generosity that makes her cooking irresistible – in her typically “Mama” way, she is not happy to let me leave without having eaten something, asking every few minutes whether I’ll not have some lunch, or “something small”, or even a drink from their extensive menu.

Mama’s Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, full course meals, snacks, and drinks and takes special pride in their Coconut Flang. To get to the food though, one must needs walk up the quaintest little wooden staircase that curls tightly upwards, past the guest rooms and little reading nooks to the rooftop. Wide windows, soft light, sea breeze and a view above the Fort rooftops to the sea... perfect for a chilled out meal in the heat of the midday sun.

Quietly managing the bustle of the place is Malini’s husband Jerome; the man behind the name “Mama’s”. Malini giggles shyly as she relates the story of how during the planning stages, Jerome would constantly be sharing his ideas with her. “He loves me so much, really” she smiles, “that every five minutes it was ‘Mama, mama, mama’” as he shared every little part of the plan with her “that’s just the way he is”. And so when it came to naming the restaurant/guest house, there were no two questions about it, Mama’s it was.

Malini and Jerome’s younger daughter, Dinesha, helps with the accounts it seems, and where the great food and comfy atmosphere come from is becoming obvious. It feels ridiculous to call the staff that wait the tables “waiters” because they are smiling away and genuinely happy to be serving you, as if it’s a simply matter of passing a dish down the table. It’s a simple case of having stepped into the Perera’s home to pay a visit and grab a bite.

Over the Moon..!

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Everybody has dreams, some realistic ones and some crazy ones. Some people get to live dreams that they wouldn't even dare to dream and Nikketha Ramachandran is one of those people. She didn't ever imagine that 60 words effortlessly put into a piece of writing about an imagined experience of watching American Idol (AI) would actually take her there. But believe it or not, they did. Nikketha was there, at Universal Studios, at the American Idol Finale, live.

When 23-year-old Nikketha (aka Nikki) heard about ETV and E FM sponsoring one lucky person to see the American Idol finale she decided that if 60 words was all it took, it was probably worth a shot. So she wrote in, and was selected as one of the lucky ten semi-finalists. Only then did she find out that the competition was a little tougher than she thought. "Oh my gosh! I gotta get on TV!?" were the first words that escaped her mouth when she heard about the trivia quiz and the public campaigning.

Nikki was an avid AI fan since she first started watching it. "I watch it all the time," she says smiling, "even the repeat episodes!" For this reason she didn't find the quiz very difficult and managed to score eight out of 10 points. When it came to the final campaigning round, her colleagues from Q&E Advertising went all out for her, and came up with the winning campaign. "I really, honestly wasn't expecting to win," she says, explaining that her competition included employees of companies with much bigger employee bases, which meant they already had a greater number of votes than her, guaranteed. "I told my friends and family about the whole thing, and asked them to vote for me, but I had dropped the idea of winning completely!" she continues.

She finally found out she had won the competition when the E FM and ETV crews turned up at her doorstep one Saturday morning and put her live on air, in her pyjamas. "But the whole trip, and the show were completely worth the embarrassment" she laughs.

When talking about the show, Nikki was lost for words. "Oh my gosh, I just wanted to cry when I walked into the theatre because it's like nothing you see on TV!" she enthuses. The ambience and the atmosphere the live experience, could never be captured on TV, she says. "Everything is so big, and shiny, and blue and silver...," she adds, explaining a bit more soberly that she is "still over the moon" about the whole experience.

"The funny thing is" she reminisces, "the fact that I was so used to watching it on the screen at home that I often caught myself doing it even there! I had to keep reminding myself that it's all happening right here in front of me." According to Nikketha, the experience really was a dream, and she’s grateful to ETV for giving her the opportunity. "I kept on asking myself 'Oh my gosh am I actually here?' Everything was so clear, vibrant and live... I have no words to describe it!" With the experience, Nikki brings us less fortunate folks not only the excitement of being there live, but also some inside info. "Ryan Seacrest is Really short though!" she exclaims "And Paula Abdul is Tiny!!!" Not only did she get to talk to these stars, she also got the opportunity to go live on Fox News, to relate the story of how she went through the ETV competition and managed to bag the prize; tickets to the American Idol Finale with travel and accommodation. "I felt like a kid in Candy World" she grins, still unable to get over the excitement.

"I was so lucky to be there!" she says, explaining that fans crowd even the outer premises of the theatre holding up banners which say "I'd do anything for ticket, please!" and so on. "It was worth all the flying and the jetlag and the embarrassment of being on TV and making funny poses for photo shoots!" Without a doubt, the experience must have been awesome, but us not-so-fortunate folks are going to have to be satisfied with her word for it. She lived her dream, saw real talent, real people and had the surreal experience